Sorted
by ReasonsUnknown13
Summary: Alicia and Angelina strike a deal, which means they both have to 'confess their love'. Alicia finds out its a lot harder than it seems. AliciaGeorge, slightly AngelinaFred and KatieOliver.
1. Spill

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Never have, never will.

A/N: Well, I'm back. Heya! This is my 1st fic in what…a year? Yeah, I think so. Heheh my imagination is still perfectly intact though!

Sorted

"Okay, Alicia, spill," Angelina asked me, after I'd sighed for like the seventieth time.

"Yeah, what's bugging you?" Katie added. It was Friday evening and we were in our dorm, taking a well-deserved break from quidditch practise. Oliver had been working us hard, though a tiny bit less than usual. All down to the fact he and Katie finally got together and spend a lot of time 'studying'. Why up in Oliver's dorm, we can only guess! I suppose I _have_ been a bit down recently.

"Is it your time of the month?" Angie asked. Hmm… I could use that as an excuse.

"Or is it guy trouble?" Katie smiled knowingly. I sighed again.

"He _does _like you, Lici," Angie said, exasperated. "You're lucky it's so blooming obvious!"

I rolled my eyes. Totally oblivious, that one is. She needs to wake up and smell the hormones. Fred is _so_ into her, but she thinks he's making fun of her. That's the thing with practical jokers: you never know when they're telling the truth. He's even admitted it to Katie and me, but no, Angie refuses to believe it.

"He's definitely into you, Lici," Katie said, "The way he looks at you!"

"You guys are just saying it," I said depressingly, "It's really getting me down."

They exchanged looks.

"Just tell him," Katie urged. Taking advice from her would be stupid. For weeks she moaned on and on about Oliver. We told her to tell him, but she was too afraid. Ange and I finally got Ollie to ask her.

I told her this.

"Yes, but it all worked out because he took the risk," Katie replied.

"One of you is going to have to come out with it," Angelina added.

Look who's talking. She won't even tell Fred, but yet she expects me to confess?

I told her this.

"Fine," she smirked, "I will if you will."

Now that isn't fair. Even the professors could tell Fred liked her. They thought they'd play matchmaker and sit them together. And of course, Katie and Oliver sat together. Leaving George and me. Which is fun. We have a right laugh. We're mates. But I want to be more than friends. Which isn't possible because he's shown no inclination that he feels the same way. And how am I supposed to say it? In the middle of Herbology, tickling the mutant-like, finger munching plants? In Charms when we're dyeing each other's hair? At quidditch practise with Wood breathing down our necks? I can see it now. _Oh, hey George, pass us that quill, will you? And I love you, by the way. _So no, it's not happening. All it would do is jeopardise our friendship, which I do not want to lose.

"No, you're okay," I said to them. But then I remembered what Fred had said the other night. He'd been so depressed

"_It's pointless, Lici, she doesn't get it. I've played too many jokes for her to ever take me seriously. I'm not good enough for her. It's breaking my heart," he said quietly, his usually sparkling eyes sunken and sad._

"_No, Fred, don't give up. She wants you, too. Just give her time," I replied._

"_Surely I've dropped enough hints?" he moaned, head in hands._

_I smiled sadly._

"_She thinks you're taking the piss out of her," I said._

_He sighed._

"_Help me out, please. I'm begging you. It's really cutting me up. I think I'm in love with her."_

_There was a stunned silence. Neither of us could believe he'd said it aloud. _

"_I'll do whatever I can," I promised._

"Alicia? Hellooo? What are you thinking?" Angie asked, waving her hands in my face.

"Maybe your idea's not so bad," I said slowly. She smiled widely.

"I knew you'd come around, now when are you going to do it?"

"Nu-uh, you're going first," I said.

Her smile dropped and her face paled.

"Aw come on," she groaned.

"Your idea," I said pointedly. Angie scowled.

"You won't even do it! You'll chicken out," she said accusingly.

That had been my idea, and my red face gave me away.

"I'm _not_ going first," I glared.

Before Ange could add anything, Katie jumped in.

"We'll use a Promise Curse," she said simply. It's just like an unbreakable vow, except you get cursed instead of dying.

"The curse can be those awful warts all over your body."

Ew. I thought again about backing out. It was only for the soon-to-be happiness of two of my best friends that I agreed.

"Fine," we replied grumpily.

Angelina and I clasped hands and Katie read the terms aloud.

"Angelina must first confess to Fred. Then Alicia must do the same to George. There is no time limit." She flicked her wand and a pink ribbon of light snaked around our hands and then vanished.

"There we go!" Katie said brightly, "Sorted."


	2. Foreseen or not

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Never have, never will.**

**A/N Heya, here's the next chapter. **

**AsYouWish: hi thanks for your review, theres not enough George/Alicia fics and I'm glad you like it.**

**Bloodtastesbetterintherain: You said u reviewed so thank you!**

**Black Flaming Heart: Thanks for your review, glad you liked the warts!**

**Arianna99: Yeah, it does go on! Thanks for reviewing :P **

Sorted

"I'm going to do it. I really am. Seriously. Definitely. No doubt, whatsoever…"

Angelina was pacing around the dorm, waiting on Katie and I getting dressed (A/N they're all in 6th year to make things easier). She had been up for hours fretting over what she should wear and how she should do her hair. Then she was moaning because Katie told her we had to wear our uniform and robes, and I reminded her about quidditch practice where it's more practical to have your hair tied back.

"Ange, give over," Katie grumbled, brushing her hair. I was ready too by now, so I was waiting at the door.

"Yeah," I agreed, and Katie was finally ready.

We headed down to breakfast. Angelina was muttering away to herself. I couldn't see what the big deal was. Fred doted on her.

As if to prove my point, when we sat down he smiled at Angie, asked her how she was, and passed her a roll. I didn't expect her to smile, and I definitely didn't expect the "Great, thanks," he got. She usually turns bright red and answers really quickly before changing the subject. You could tell Fred was surprised but covered it up by throwing an arm around her.

"Looking good, Angie," he said suggestively. She smiled and started to eat.

"What's everyone in first?" Katie asked. Bah. Divination. The biggest load of crap you could pick. But then it was Herbology, which is a riot. As a matter of fact, I hadn't finished the essay I had to do for today. Ugh.

The bell rang just as I'd finished scribbling the last few sentences.

"Doing your homework, Lish?" George asked with a smirk. Oh how I love his voice. So masculine but joking at the same time. I almost burst out laughing at my own cheesiness.

"Yeah," I replied, cramming it into my bag, which I hoisted onto my back. George shook his head at me.

"You should've asked and you could've copied mine," he said, and we began our journey up to the top of the tower.

My mouth dropped open.

"_You_ did the homework?" I exclaimed, "_You_ did the _homework_?" Wow. That must be a first for him. I was literally bowled over!

"Well…" George started, "I _did_ kind of copy Fred, who copied Angelina, who copied Katie, who got the answers from Oliver."

I burst out laughing.

"And here I did it all on my own!"

George smirked and muttered something.

"A load of what?" I asked, knowing fine well what he'd said.

"Um…perfectly good homework?" he replied with a grin. I rolled my eyes and slapped the back of his head.

"Nice try, bub," I said.

"Bub? What the hell?" Aw bless. He looks even cuter when he's confused. I can't believe I wrote that. But it's true. Agh shut up, Alicia!

"I've heard it someplace before," I shrugged. We had finally reached the ladder to Trelawney's classroom. Hooray for boredom.

"Psst, Lish!" George hissed. I looked up and narrowly missed the paper ball that had been flung at me. I stooped down, picked it up, and opened it.

**Lish,**

**Anything you'd care to share about Angie's strange behaviour this morning? George**

_Emm…I'm not supposed to say._

**Aw come on, who am I going to tell?**

_Well…okay, you've twisted my arm._

**I haven't touched you!**

_It's a saying, you moron._

**I knew that. But back to the subject.**

_Swear you won't say anything?_

**Swear.**

_All I'm going to say is that Angelina and Fred will be a couple pretty soon._

I was watching George's reaction when he read that, and I'm sure I saw a flicker of something. Envy, possibly, as Fred was so close to winning the girl of his dreams. I'm sure I imagined it, though, as it was replaced almost immediately with a smile. He wrote something and tossed it back.

**Seriously? Wow Fred will be so chuffed. I _thought_ she liked him!**

_Sure you did. It was a little obvious, wasn't it?_

**Yeah, to everyone but them.**

I was contemplating what to write next when I was very rudely interrupted.

"Miss Spinnet?" questioned Professor Trelawney eerily, "how are your predictions going?"

I inwardly smirked.

"Interestingly, professor," I replied mysteriously. She was curious now.

"What is it? What do you _see_?" she enquired, straining to see into my teacup. I innocently tilted it so she couldn't.

"By the looks of things I'm going to be in for quite a day. It seems we'll have a good quidditch practise, I'll complete all my homework, and get an O in class for giving an amazing prediction."

Trelawney gazed into space thoughtfully for a moment, before turning back to me.

"Yes, I sense it now!" she breathed, "Good work, that's an Outstanding on your practical Tea Leaf examination. Do remember to refresh your mind for next lesson's practical Crystal Ball examination." With that she gave me a scary smile and turned away. George burst out laughing at the horrified look on my face.

"You!" Trelawney snapped, pointing at him, "your turn." He froze, and then glanced into his teacup.

"Um…you see…there's this thing…yep it's a cross and it's slightly tilted…but there's also this shape hanging around it…it looks a lot like a shadow…a threatening shadow. There's also a funny…rectangle. It could be a gun…or a sword…something inflicting violence of some sort. And, a blobby shape…possibly a bunch of grapes…or a ball of wool," he rambled.

"Give it here!" Trelawney commanded, and took a look. George blushed slightly.

"I think it's trying to tell us that there will be danger in a graveyard, serious danger, involving knives and string…" he explained.

Trelawney raised her eyes to look at him.

"All this is telling us is that it's going to rain tonight. You should pay more attention. That's a P for you," she said haughtily and moved on.

I tried to stifle my laughter, and picked up my quill.

_Ha ha, not quite as talented as me, are we?_

**Shut it, suck-up! **

_You just can't take it!_

**Oh yeah? I'll whoop your arse at practise tonight.**

_Is that so?_

**Yeah.**

_Bring it!_

**Oh I will, don't worry.**

I left Divination feeling confused. Had George been flirting with me? Or was I just misinterpreting his notes?

At lunch I joined the others beside the lake. Oliver had his arm around Katie and was whispering in her ear. Fred and Angelina had gone for a little walk. Presumably she was about to make her move. I sat down at the edge of the lake and took of my shoes and socks. Trailing my feet in the water, I thought about stuff. What made me so different to Katie and Angelina?

Yeah, they were both pretty. Katie with her English rose skin, light brown hair, and baby blue eyes was cute, and had a great personality. Also Angelina, with her smooth tanned skin, long dark braids, and deep chocolate coloured eyes, could never be considered ugly, and she was so full of life. But, as for me? I'd never really thought about it before. Surely I couldn't be _that_ bad looking, could I? Wouldn't kids be commenting on why the two pretty girls hung around with me? But I don't exactly pay attention to other peoples' conversations, so maybe I've missed them. Which would explain my lack of boy attention.

I sighed and splashed my feet about.

I couldn't really kid myself. I _knew_ I wasn't ugly. It wasn't that I was bigheaded and thought I was gorgeous, though. Mainly because Katie and Angelina told me I'm not, and they're my best mates. They wouldn't lie to me.

I caught sight of my reflection on the lake. Dark brown hair, just past my shoulders, pale skin, and green eyes. Boring. I was depressing myself, sitting there, wallowing in self-pity. I jumped a mile when a pair of hands covered my eyes and a disguised voice said,

"Guess who?"

Despite myself, I grinned, and turned around. It was George. He sat down beside me.

"Hey," he greeted me, but fell silent. I snuck a glance at him. It's quite amazing how you can find one twin hot, but not his identical twin brother. Angie and I constantly argue over who is better looking. Katie usually just laughs at us, and refuses to take sides.

"You two!" someone called. We both whirled around. It was Katie. Her and Oliver had stood up.

"The bell goes in a minute," she explained, and they both walked off, arms wrapped around each other.

"Here, let me help you," George said. He was already on his feet and held a hand out. I took it and he helped me up. I watched him put his shoes on. They were cool. Blue and grey vans. I put mine on. Electric blue Converse with fluorescent yellow laces. I got them in a muggle shop over the summer.

We walked into the Entrance Hall just as the bell went, so went straight to Potions.

It was only when we had to go to our seats that I realised I was still holding his hand.

**A/N well here's chapter 2, let me know what you guys think.**


	3. Chicken!

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Never have, never will.**

**A/N: Heya, next chap up!**

**Black Flaming Heart: Hey, George can have whatever shoes I give him, and blue and yellow rock together. I'm not a big AliciaGeorge fan either, I just didn't want to copy you m'dear. I like writing it, though. And 'in depth' stories can be cool, like yours, its just I get depressed reading about rape and suicide. Thanks for your review x**

… **: Um, thanks for your review. You can hex anything BUT my hair :P**

**Pretzel: Thanx for reviewin my, um, cutiful story (great word :D).**

Sorted

"Did I just see what I thought I just saw?" Angelina asked, a little jealously. Obviously her talk with Fred hadn't gone very well.

"Depends on what you thought you saw," I replied cheekily. Her face fell and I immediately felt guilty. She sighed loudly.

"I know your going to ask, so I'll tell you," she started, and took a deep breath. Ange looked really upset. I hoped Fred hadn't turned her down. If he had, I'd kill him. Surely he couldn't have moved on already?

"What is it?" I questioned gently. Angelina took another gulp of air.

"I chickened out," she finished dramatically. I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding. What a relief.

"Ange, don't worry about it," I told her, "You _know_ Fred feels the same way. Look at breakfast this morning. Admit it, you know he likes you."

I had her there. She flushed.

"Well, I suppose he _does_ like me," she admitted awkwardly, "but I'm still scared. I fear rejection."

Poor Angelina.

"And," she continued, "It's so obvious George likes you. I reckon he'll ask you out any minute. 'Specially after _that_."

I knew she was referring to the holding hands.

"Look, Angie, take the risk. Live your life. Feel the fear, but do it anyway," I declared, sounding really corny.

"_Feel the fear, but do it anyway,_" she muttered to herself, and her eyes hardened. "You're right, Lish. I'm doing it. After dinner.

Angelina was back. When the bell rang she strode out confidently. Nothing was stopping her.

Amazingly, nothing did stop her. All throughout dinner she was cool, calm and collected (A/N the original 3Cs nona :P). No anxiety or anything. Once we'd all finished we went back to the Common Room. It was surprisingly empty, so we took our usual seats in the corner.

"I can't believe we have _no_ homework," Katie said, voicing everyone's thoughts. We all spoke up in agreement, but fell silent again. Ten minutes later nobody had spoken, and it was getting rather stupid. It wasn't even one of those 'comfortable' silences. None of us wanted to break it. Until…

"Oh for heaven's sake, this is ridiculous!" Angelina burst out, "Why aren't we talking?"

"Dunno," was the reply. It didn't satisfy Ange. She stood up.

"I'm going for a walk," she announced calmly. Fred jumped up immediately.

"I'll come too," he said, and they exited through the portrait hole.

"Do you think she'll do it?" Katie asked curiously. Oliver, who was sitting beside her, looked indifferent, which meant Katie had obviously told him about Angelina.

"Yeah," I replied, "I really think she will."

"As long as they've finished before seven," Oliver spoke up.

It took a minute for the penny to drop.

"Ah, quidditch practise," I stated. Katie, George and I rolled our eyes.

"I saw that!" Oliver said tightly, "You should show more enthusiasm. We _need_ to win the cup. I've spent _hours_ devising plays and drills…"

We all zoned out and left him talking to himself. Oliver never notices. He's too busy listening to himself to realise none of us are paying attention.

At 7 o'clock we were all assembled on the pitch with our brooms. Oliver explained the new plays. They didn't differ too much from the old ones so we were all good. Except for Harry, who had been given hundreds more moves.

"Don't worry if you don't get them first time, Harry," Oliver added as an aftermath, and the youngest player visibly relaxed.

"Right team, lets go!"

We all shot into the air. The quaffle was released and Angelina grabbed it. The game began.

"Good work guys," Oliver called at the end of practise. We just groaned. The rain had come on, and it had poured and poured. We had been drenched within a minute. Needless to say, we were grumpy. Apart from the weather it had been a great practise. Harry had pulled off each and every move perfectly and effortlessly. We were all in awe of him. Especially Oliver, who swelled with pride every time Harry caught the Snitch. Us Chasers had had a good run too. Angelina, Katie and I worked really well together. Its like we know exactly what the others are going to do, and work with it. Fred and George were also on good form. They've got identical speed and strength, and are brilliant matches for the bludgers. And Oliver played well as usual. He's a good Keeper and is thinking about going professional once he leaves Hogwarts.

"Hey, Lish! She's going to tell us now!" Katie shrieked. I went and joined them in the changing rooms and took off my wringing robes.

Angelina and Fred had already been down at the pitch by the time we got there, and had refused to comment about their walk. Now, Angelina was ready to spill!

"Well," she began, brushing her hair, "We were just walking along. And he asked me where we were going. I said I didn't know, wherever was fine. Then we were silent for a bit." Angie paused and giggled, before continuing.

"So then I did it! I turned to him and told him I liked him. He looked so surprised. Not because I liked him, but because I had admitted it. Then he said he liked me too, and I swear, my heart went _whoosh_!"

Katie and I squealed, and Angie grinned wider.

"Then I smiled and before I could say anything else, he took my hand and asked me if I'd be his girlfriend!"

"Awww!" Katie and me ran to her and had a group hug.

"I'm _so _proud of you!" I added.

"What did you say?" Katie asked.

"I said of course I would, and one thing led to another…" she trailed off.

"But that doesn't explain what you were doing for at least two hours," Katie smirked. Angelina blushed.

"Well…"

"Say no more!" I laughed. We all knew _exactly_ what she'd been up to. The three of us finished getting changed and walked back up to the castle.

It wasn't until we got to the portrait of the fat lady when Ange turned and whispered to me,

"You're next, Lish."

**A/N It's snowing! My bro and me were practically swimming down to the co-op! Anyways, another chap up! R&R plz x **


	4. Wrong End of the Stick

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Never have, never will.**

**A/N: Heya, next chap up!**

**Previously: **_"Say no more!" I laughed. We all knew exactly what she'd been up to. The three of us finished getting changed and walked back up to the castle._

_It wasn't until we got to the portrait of the fat lady when Ange turned and whispered to me,_

"_You're next, Lish."_

Sorted

"What!" I blurted out. Shoot my big mouth. Katie and Ange stopped and stared at me.

"You _are_ doing it, aren't you?" Katie asked sharply. Ange looked horrified.

"We had a _deal!_" she hissed, "You can't go back on it! Remember the curse?"

Did I ever.

"Yes, I'm gonna do it, but not _right now,_" I growled, climbing into the Common Room.

"Good," was all Ange said.

Fred, George and Oliver were already sitting in our usual seats. Fred waved us over.

"When _will _you do it?" Ange muttered.

"_Later,_" I snapped, "stop pushing me!"

Angie jumped as if I'd slapped her and I felt guilty.

"Sorry," I sighed, "it's just annoying."

Ange smiled again.

"Ok, I won't push you. I know how hard it is."

We sat with the boys for a bit, but I began to feel fed up. Fred and Angie were curled up together, talking quietly, and Katie and Oliver were kissing. George had picked up a quidditch book and was reading it.

"I'm going to bed," I announced flatly, leaving without saying goodnight. In the dorm I changed and got into bed. I drew the curtains and lay there for ages. Hours later Katie and Ange finally came up. They were talking quietly, thinking I was asleep. I did some heavy breathing to doubly convince them.

"I don't think she'll do it," Katie whispered. _Don't think who'll do what?_

"I don't know," Ange sighed, "but it would be a shame on George." _Oh, they're talking about George and me. But why would it be a shame on him? Unless they know he doesn't like me…_

"Yeah, I can't understand why he doesn't say anything, though," Katie murmured. _He definitely doesn't like me then._

"He's too shy," was all Angie muttered. Katie didn't reply, so the conversation was over.

_Great. Just brilliant._

The next morning was a quiet morning. Angelina and Katie never mentioned the George situation once. They must be feeling guilty. We went down to breakfast together. The boys weren't there yet, so it was peaceful. I left the table as soon as I was finished. But don't get me wrong. I'm not a coward or anything! I just had to finish my essay in the library.

My first class was Potions. I arrived way too early. Inside the dungeon I took my seat. Fred waltzed in just as the bell rang. He took his seat beside me and opened his book.

"Hey, Alicia, how are you?" he asked, glancing over at me.

"Fine thanks, you?" I replied, just as politely.

"Just great. Where did you run off to this morning?"

Ah. I should have guessed it was coming. I'm normally the least studious person you could ever come across.

"Oh, I had a last minute essay to complete," I said breezily.

Fred opened his mouth to reply, just as Snape stormed in. With a flick of his wand the instructions were on the board.

"Get this done," he barked, and flounced into his office.

People began to talk.

"Silence!" Snape roared through, and the room grew quiet.

That didn't stop Fred having it out. I jumped when the sheaf of parchment landed in my lap.

**Since when did _you_ study in the morning?**

_It was an emergency. _I hoped he'd buy that excuse.

**What was it?**

_Herbology essay._

**You don't have that today. **Dang.

_What makes you think that?_

**Because I'm in your Herbology class. **Double dang.

_Well, I thought I'd get a head start on it. _He'd better but that.

**Sure you did. **

_I did!_

**Didn't you say to George you'd do it with him tonight? **Oh noooooo.

_Shit! I completely forgot. _

**Whatever, Lish.**

_No! I seriously did. I wasn't thinking straight. _

**I wonder why that was? **Ooh ginger git!

_Shut up! You don't know what you're talking about._

**If that's what you think… **He better not know.

_Ange wouldn't tell you anything._

**How do you know? **Man, this was getting worse and worse.

_Look, seriously, I'm glad everything worked out well for you. That's great. But, please, just leave me alone!_

**Has this got anything to do with George?**

_What? But you just said – I thought you knew! _Why am I so stupid?

**Nope. This is all new to me.**

_Liar!_

**Hey! I don't lie. **Oh my word.

_Okay, you don't lie then! But I am glad you and Ange are happy._

**What about you?**

_What _about _me? I'm no concern of yours!_

**Course you are! We're mates aren't we?**

_Yeah, but –_

**No buts. Talk to you later.**

I knew I should've faked being ill. When Potions was finished I tried to rush off but Fred held me back.

"Let me go!" I cried, trying to tug my robes free.

"Lish, come on, give me a break," he moaned, "I _know _how you're feeling. I've been feeling like that for ages."

Time to take the bull by the horns.

"No, Fred, you have no idea what I'm feeling. You don't know anything about me!" Fred shook his head wearily.

"I know you're in denial," he muttered savagely.

"I am _not _in denial!" I exclaimed. Fred was still holding onto my robes.

"You helped me, let me help you," he said softly

"You could start by letting me go," I snarled. I really do hate being horrible to Fred. Why on earth does he try to psychoanalyse me?

"Alicia, this isn't fair on anyone," Fred said in a low voice.

"Oh not you too!" I practically yelled, "I know the score. I've already heard Ange and Katie saying he doesn't like me that way, that he's too shy to tell me, so save it!" I gave my robes an enormous yank, releasing them from Fred's grip, and sprinted off along the corridor. I was in Charms next. Katie was already waiting at the door. I slowed down.

"Hi," she said hesitantly.

"Hey," I replied. Katie chewed her lip.

"Have you spoken to Fred?" she asked after a while. I had an idea.

"Yep," I said cheerfully, flashing her a smile. She sighed in relief.

"Great!" she exclaimed, so are you able to do this charm?"

Phew! Just like old times. Thank god for quick thinking!

My secret wasn't safe for long.

As I joined my friends for lunch, there was a strange silence. Oliver filled it mercilessly by chattering on about quidditch. So we were all relieved when the bell rang, ending the long, strained lunch break.

I walked alone to class, wishing things were different. They were my best friends, yet everything was broken up.

_Who invented love anyway_, I thought savagely, kicking the wall.

"I don't know!" I answered myself loudly. Several 1st years eyed me warily. Great! Now I had to add 'insane' to my list of qualities. Along with 'idiot' and 'moron'.

"And bloody angry," I growled. One 1st year squeaked, and ran off. Whoopee. 'Scary' had to be added too. This wasn't my day. In fact, when am I ever lucky?

I was so lost in my thoughts I walked into something hard. The wall. Like a complete loser, tears trickled down my face. I mentally added another adjective to my list.

'Pathetic'.

**A/N about time eh? R&R plz**


	5. I have a boyfriend!

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Never have, never will.**

**A/N: Heya, next chap up!**

Sorted

Pathetic. Pathetic. Pathetic. Why am I so pathetico? I could turn this into a song. Yeah. Choirboys singing 'pathetic' in the background, dancing on the street. The main singer would sing 'why am I so pathetico' over and over again. Whilst prancing about. Sounds good. No. Strike that. It sounds _pathetic. _Which is what it is. _Pathetic._ My new favourite word. Well, not my favourite, but certainly the best-equipped to describe me. Pathetic. Oh for goodness sake! Obsess much? But I couldn't get that word out of my head. It followed me about all day. When I tried to have conversations with people, it loomed right in my face. _Pathetic._

Right, this has GOT to stop. Calling myself pathetic won't help matters. _Even though you are._ Blah. Pathetic. Okay,

WHY THE HELL DO I KEEP CALLING MYSELF PATHETIC?

Shut up, Lish, shut up! For cripes sake.

"What are you doing?" I jumped ten feet in the air. Oh, it was only Ange.

"Nothing," I replied, avoiding eye contact. Ange sighed heavily.

"Look, Lish, if you want to forfeit out, it's totally cool. Not exactly fair, but I won't hate you for it," she said bleakly. I stared at the floor. I was thinking. After minutes of internal battling I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding.

"No," I said in a voice that sounded _nothing _like mine, "what have I got to lose? I might as well do it. Stop being pathetic." Did I say that aloud? Cringe.

"Pathetic?" Ange inquired, "Why do you think you're pathetic?" I knew she wouldn't drop it. However, I just ignored her. We walked back to the Common Room together. Amazingly, I could breathe easier. Almost like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I was turning around and facing my problems head on. Not that I would think about his reaction. No, that would cause a breakdown of sorts. Whoa. Overdramatic.

Katie was sitting alone by the fire.

"They've gone to raid the kitchens," she explained. Obviously. Food is all they think of. Ange and I sat down, and we just talked. In general. Neither mentioned anything personal. And when the boys came back we kept the conversation neutral. Quidditch, mostly. Oliver told us his plans for the team, then we discussed matches and players. At midnight we went to bed. All was peaceful.

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The next day I began my mission. I had even named it and everything. 'Mission: find George alone' was it's official name. FGA for short. I told Ange and Katie my plan.

"How's 'Figah' going?" Ange asked as I passed her in the corridor.

"Terribly," I replied. Ah well, it wasn't even lunch yet. But lunch turned out to be a lucky time. I was innocently hurrying up to the castle after Care of Magical Creatures, when I spotted a familiar redhead. Alone. I ran to catch him up.

"Hey," I said, walking beside him. George looked shocked.

"Hey," he said, recovering quickly, "wasn't a bad lesson, was it?"

"No," I replied. We were getting nearer the castle. I didn't have much longer. Right. Take the bull by the horns. Feel the fear and do it anyway.

"George, listen," I blurted out, before I could change my mind, "Just so you know, I like you." I kept looking straight ahead.

"You like me," George repeated slowly. Why was he making this harder?

"Yes," I said quickly, "As in I have feelings for you." Cringe. It was all so _cheesy._ I sneaked a glance at him. You cannot imagine how shocked I was at the grin of sheer delight on his face.

This was all too much for me. The doors were getting nearer.

"Lish," George said hesitantly. His face was pink. Here it comes, the big rejection. "I like you too." Holy cow.

"You _what?_" I cried. George looked at me as though I was an idiot.

"I like you too," he repeated, "As in I have feelings for you too." He grinned as he copied my words from earlier. I flushed.

"But you _can't!_" I exclaimed, "I heard Ange and Katie talking." George was confused.

"Heard them saying what? They _know _like you!" he replied. What?

"But they were saying you were too shy to tell me that you didn't feel the same…" I broke off. George's eyes dawned in comprehension.

"No," he said slowly, "I was too shy to tell you I _fancied _you."

"But-" I started. Then I remembered they hadn't actually said what he'd been too shy to do. Oh the embarrassment. That meant I had wasted ages instead of just telling him. On the plus side I don't get those ridiculous warts. Yes!

"Lish," George continued, "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

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"I have a boyfriend! I have a boyfriend!" was my new chant. I sang it to Ange as I took my seat at the table.

"You what?" she asked absently.

"_I have a boyfriend!_" I sang again.

"You have a…_boyfriend!_" she was suddenly paying attention.

"Lish, omigod!" Katie had also heard. Suddenly I was a bit embarrassed.

"Yeah, I did it!" I said triumphantly. They both squealed in delight. Fred and George arrived at the table together. George gave me a smile, but Fred didn't look very happy. In fact, he was quiet throughout the meal. Strange. But nothing could burst my happy bubble. The good mood lasted all day. And after dinner George and I went for a little romantic walk. I don't need to say that it turned into a very long walk, where we didn't exactly walk, but it was fun!

I returned to the Common Room on a high. But the atmosphere was tense. People were muttering amongst themselves. The usual buzz wasn't there. Neither were any of our friends. I said goodnight to George and went up to our dorm. Someone was already there. Strange. I had thought the girls would be out with _their _boyfriends.

"Lish?" a voice sobbed painfully. I froze. My friend was curled into a ball on her bed, crying her eyes out.

"Lish, he dumped me," Ange choked out. The tears were flowing down her face.

"Fred?" I asked stupidly.

"Who do you think?" she snapped, wiping her face. The tears kept coming.

"What happened?" I asked quietly, going over to her bed. She stood up and threw her arms round me.

"I hadn't told him that we had dared each other to ask them out," she cried anguishly. That surprised me.

"But I told George," I mused, slowly patting her back. Ange was nowhere near calm.

"And he told Fred," she bawled, "and he was mad I never told him. I said it shouldn't matter, but he said daring each other was pathetic and that we were over."

Oh no. This couldn't be happening. Just after George and I had got it together.

"Don't cry, Ange, don't cry," I soothed, "I'll sort it out."

Where had that come from?

"Oh, Lish, will you? It would mean so much to me!" Ange wailed. I bit my lip. Well, thanks to my big mouth I would have to now.

But Fred is just as stubborn as Ange.

What have I got myself into?

**A/N Let me know what you think, please. Thanks to my reviewers,**

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	6. Can She Fix it?

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Never have, never will.**

**A/N: Heya, long time no update… sorry everyone, but here it is!**

Previously… 

"_Don't cry, Ange, don't cry," I soothed, "I'll sort it out." _

_Where had that come from?_

"_Oh, Lish, will you? It would mean so much to me!" Ange wailed. I bit my lip. Well, thanks to my big mouth I would have to now._

_But Fred is just as stubborn as Ange._

_What have I got myself into?_

Sorted 

Finding Fred turned out to be way more difficult than I had imagined it would be. I searched everywhere: the library (yeah, I know, as if), the astronomy tower, the kitchens, but to no avail. He had vanished off the face of the earth! Well, not really, but he was obviously off sulking somewhere. And the chances I would stumble across his hideout were very low, so it would just have to wait.

"Sorry Angie," I sighed, entering the dorm and catching her hopeful eyes, "You know what they're like when they don't want to be found."

Angelina's head drooped and she buried her head in her pillow.

"Night," was her muffled reply.

"Night," I replied. After all, everything always looks better in the morning.

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"Come on, Ange, get up! Alicia, do something!" I could hear Katie moaning. I finished buttoning my top and exited the bathroom. Katie, like me, was ready to go down to breakfast, but Angie was still in her pyjamas, in bed, refusing to even sit up.

"Just leave her, Kates," I sighed, "But Ange, you really _are_ being daft." And with that, we left.

The walk down to the Great Hall was quiet for once, as both Katie and I weren't exactly in the talking mood.

"Morning, Lish," my boyfriend greeted me. Boyfriend! I can't get my head around it!

"Hey George," I replied, taking my usual seat. I glanced up the table and noticed familiar redhead. I excused myself and moved further down the table.

"Morning!" I said breezily, sitting down and tucking into the food. Fred kind of mumbled a greeting.

"Really, Fred, how long will you hold her to this?" I asked witheringly. He still refused to make eye contact.

"I don't know what you mean," he replied with his mouth full.

"Yes you do- " I started to say, but got distracted. Fred also looked up from his plate. In fact, it seemed the whole table was watching her. Angelina, I mean. For she strolled in casually, looking fresh and revitalised, and sat down beside Katie, chatting a mile a minute. I surveyed poor Fred, with his shadowed eyes and unkempt hair. _That _entrance certainly put him out of the talking mood. To prove my point, he swiftly got to his feet and marched out, his jaw clenched. Ah well, plenty more opportunities.

Like Potions, for example.

"Hey Fred," I said, taking my seat in the classroom.

"Don't even bother, Lish," he said flatly. Oh, _my._

"Don't bother what? Opening my textbook? Collecting the ingredients? Be for specific please," I replied lightly. Fred jaw, if possible, tightened.

"I'm not in the mood," he said tightly.

"Me neither. Potions is the bums this early." Suddenly he snapped.

"Alicia, CUT IT OUT!"

After I'd finished crapping myself, I contemplated whether to use my 'I don't have any scissors' comeback, but the scowl on Fred's face rapidly made me change my mind. A little time for him to cool off wouldn't hurt, would it?

For the first time ever, the lesson had just flown by, and Fred's face was considerably looser. Maybe I could risk it.

"Fred?" I asked tentatively, "Can I just-"

"No," he replied.

"But I just wanted to-"

"No."

"Not even-"

"No."

"Why won't you -"

"No."

"FRED, JUST LISTEN TO ME FOR PETE'S SAKE!"

"No," he replied again, and marched away.

I let out my breath all at once. This couldn't get any worse.

Apparently it could, however.

"How's it going, Lish?" Katie asked as she passed me in the corridor.

"Terrible, he won't even listen," I complained. Katie smiled sadly.

"I'll give it a try," she called, and waved goodbye.

The next time I saw her she was in tears.

"He shouted at me and told me to get lost," she sobbed, and I gave her a big hug.

"Don't worry, it'll blow over," I said soothingly. And it would. Eventually.

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By the evening Fred had had way more than enough time to calm down. I approached him warily.

"Hi," I said tentatively. He nodded in acknowledgement and gestured to the seat beside him. Sitting down, I said to him,

"So are you going to tell me then?" Fred sighed heavily.

"I guess," he replied, in a strangled sort of voice.

"Well…?" I prompted.

"This isn't easy to admit," Fred started, keeping his eyes on the floor, "but I really like Angie. _Really _like her. And it wasn't really about that deal you guys made. In a way I'm glad you made it."

"So what's the problem?" I asked impatiently. This was making no sense.

"I just wish _she'd _told me about it. I found out from George. Imagine what else she could be keeping from me! What if she's into another guy and just keeps spinning me a line? Or, if she didn't really want to go out with me in the first place? I just don't know whether I can trust her," he finished sadly. I shook my head in disbelief.

"Fred, you have to snap out of it! You're bonkers!" I told him, "Firstly, I think you're being a tad insecure, and you're not normally like this. But secondly, you're forgetting the most important thing; you _know _Angelina. You've known her, what, six years now? That's a long time. Can you honestly say that you think she would do that to you?" Fred was blushing to the roots of his hair.

"You're right, Lish," he finally admitted, "Man, I've been such a fool, but you've made me see what I need to do." Fred gave me a small, sad smile, and ran his fingers through his hair in relief.

"Good on you," I replied, and gave him a huge hug. I could feel the tension leaving his body as he managed to relax. Then-

"What the hell is going on here?"

**A/N So, I hope it's alright, and I haven't confused anyone or anything. Thanks for reading, and please review!**

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	7. Trouble Strikes

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Never have, never will.**

**A/N: Heya, here is chapter 7!!! **

Previously… 

"_You're right, Lish," he finally admitted, "Man, I've been such a fool, but you've made me see what I need to do." Fred gave me a small, sad smile, and ran his fingers through his hair in relief._

"Good on you," I replied, and gave him a huge hug. I could feel the tension leaving his body as he managed to relax. Then-

"_What the hell is going on here?"_

Sorted 

"What the hell is going on here?"

We were faced with an extremely angry Katie. Guilt washed over me, even though I _knew _I had no reason to feel guilty. I hadn't done anything! Except… Katie wasn't _quite _looking at Fred and I. No, in fact, she was staring a fraction of an inch to the left of us. I whirled around. And my jaw dropped.

Standing behind us, with his arms around another girl, was Oliver. And they were kissing.

Fred's arms fell to his sides, as he noticed too. I turned to Katie, who was now a ghastly shade of white. She wavered and I ran over to steady her.

And then, only then, did Oliver pull away from the other girl. He muttered something inaudible to her, and she left. Oliver turned to face us.

"Katie, this isn't working," he said abruptly. Katie was speechless. Fred had his fists clenched at his sides. Only I noticed how Oliver was purposefully avoiding eye contact with any of us.

"I think you should go," a voice from behind us spoke up. It was Angelina, closely followed by George. Oliver, still refusing to look at any of us, shrugged and moved off.

The five of us stood standing there in silence, and then all that could be heard were Katie's sobs.

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The end of Katie and Oliver had one plus side. Angelina and Fred were back together. After Angie and I had rushed Katie up to the dorm and calmed her down, Fred took her for a walk, and must have explained all to her, for they came back all smiles.

"I'm going to wait until the morning to tell Katie," Ange whispered, "I don't want to upset her anymore tonight."

"Good thinking," I replied, as we entered the dorm. Katie was lying facedown on her bed, immobile. She had obviously cried herself to sleep. We pulled her covers over her and let her fall asleep. Then we also went to bed.

The next few weeks were eventful. Katie was no longer crying, but was angry instead. She spent the best of her time cursing under her breath, and blowing up scraps of parchment with her wand. None of us mentioned her suddenly destructive behaviour, but we kept a careful eye on her. But she wasn't the only who was behaving strangely. After 'that night' I kept a close eye on Oliver. His face was gaunt and he always looked miserable. I had also caught him staring at Katie several times. Obviously she wasn't the only one pining either.

"He has no reason to pine for her," George said scathingly, when I voiced my opinion, "_He _dumped _her_." I didn't bother trying again.

But Quidditch practices were tense. There was only a slight difference in Oliver's behaviour, which was that he never actually addressed any of us directly. He just pointed and would bark, "You do this, and you do that…"

Yet no one seemed to share the same feelings as I did. They were all too pissed off at him for dumping Katie so callously. I mean, don't get me wrong, I _was _angry with him, but I just felt that there was more to the story than he was letting on. He _was _careful, but then he slipped up, giving me enough evidence to prove my case.

It all happened about a month after their break-up. I was walking all on my lonesome to Divination. Usually I walked with George, but he had been held back and I hadn't wanted to wait, as the last time he had taken 20 minutes. So I was walking along the corridor, when Oliver exited one of the classrooms. He seemed to be in a daydream, and accidentally bumped into me. His books fell to the ground and his inkpot spilled all over his robes.

"_Shit,_" he muttered, trying to wipe his robes. I bent down and picked up his books. A roll of parchment had come undone, and I couldn't help but glance at it. Half of an essay had been written, but most of the parchment was covered in graffiti. There were lots of love hearts, and the initials K.B. _Katie Bell_. But most unusually, the date on the top of the parchment was that day's date. Meaning, Oliver had written it today. I must have been staring at it, as Oliver snatched it out of my hands.

"It's… That's…. Old," he managed to stutter, looking extremely flustered. His face was flushed, and his hands were shaking slightly. Catching my eye, his face turned even redder. Without thanking me, he turned and practically sprinted down the corridor.

If that wasn't enough evidence, I suddenly noticed that in his haste he had forgotten to pick up his copy of Quidditch Through the Ages. Actually, it was the libraries, I noticed on further inspection. He had taken it out the day before. And, once again, there were a couple of doodles, including several more K.Bs and even some O.W. 4 K.Bs.

I pocketed the book and hurried to class. Yet still I wondered.

What are you up to, Oliver?

A.N. Hmm…what will happen next? Review to find out!! 

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	8. OOI

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Never have, never will.**

**A/N: Wow it's been ages… I suppose I can blame I on exams :D.. But here's the next chapter!! **

Previously… 

_Yet still I wondered._

_What are you up to, Oliver?_

Sorted 

"Why does it always rain on me, is it because I lied when I was seventeen?" Katie sang tunelessly. Ange and I eyed her with disdain. Still, out of tune singing was a slight improvement from crying mercilessly for two straight weeks. In fact, I would take the singing any day!

"Why does it always rain on me?" Katie began again. Oh man, she really did take singing lessons from a cat. "Is it because I lied when I was seventeen?"

Believe it or not, there is a certain irony to Katie singing that. You see, ever since the 'Oliver Incident', whenever Katie goes outside it starts to rain. Pour, in fact. Recently, Ange and I have taken to leaving five minutes before her to ensure we reach the greenhouses before the rain!

So, because it "always rains on her", Katie's convinced it has something to do with her and Oliver's break-up, and that she must have told a lie which made him cheat, because she's also seventeen.

Frankly, I think it's a load of rubbish, but it seems to keep Katie preoccupied… She's been spending all her free time trying to figure out the lie she told him. So, you guessed it, she's falling behind in every class.

"Alicia!" Angie hissed, and jerked her thumb towards the door. She was right; we had to be making a move.

And no, we didn't have hot dates unfortunately (ha ha ha). We were going to spy on Oliver!!

It's this new mission we've started, ever since the 'Oliver Incident', which we just call OI to save questions being asked. After my little discovery with Ollie's books, I filled Ange in, and we agreed on one fact: something fishy is going on! So we told the boys, and they agreed too. Fred and George came up with Operation OI, where we follow Oliver and try to gain a better perspective on what goes on inside that Quidditch-obsessed head of his.

Upon reaching the Common Room, Angie was first to find the twins and commenced to inform them that we were continuing with Operation OI (it can be OOI for short). Excitedly they called over Lee, who was joining us on our stakeout. He was going to be 'bait'.

I couldn't wait for it to begin!"

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"You know, I always thought that I'd make a good spy," I told Ange, as we put on our sunglasses and hats.

"Me too," she replied with a grin, whilst trying to pull on a pair of plastic gloves.

"Erm… Ange? Why the plastic gloves?" I asked, baffled, tying my hair back.

"So that I don't leave fingerprints!" Ange replied, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. Okay…

"Right, lets get going!" I cried.

"Yeah!" Ange exclaimed, slapping me a high-five. We were officially on OOI.

When we reached the boys, who were waiting outside the Fat Lady, they just gawped at us.

"What the hell?" George started, but Fred cut him off.

"Don't even ask," he said, shaking his head. Lee, however, was grinning in amusement.

"Couldn't find the cat-suits, ladies?" he inquired. Oh, very funny. Just because _they_ hadn't dressed the part and we had! So off we went.

"Alright everyone, the man himself is steadily approaching the corridor!" Fred hissed, "Take your positions!" We all ran to our spots and hid safely from sight. Lee positioned himself in the middle of the corridor, and whipped out a sheaf of parchment. He took up a mournful expression.

Within two minutes, Oliver arrived.

"Hey Lee," he greeted the quidditch commentator.

"Oh, hi Oliver," Lee replied sadly, looking at his feet.

"What's the matter?" Oliver asked, but didn't look as though he cared.

"I'm so stupid." Lee told him in a small voice. Oliver began to appear more intrigued, and was glancing surreptitiously at Lee's bare parchment.

"Why? Are you stuck on an essay?" he wondered. Lee blushed and bit his lip.

"No," he answered, "but I'm having trouble writing a poem."

Oliver was taken-aback.

"A poem?" he repeated, "Why do you need to write a poem?" Lee gave him a small smile.

"It's for this girl," he explained, "I'm deeply in love with her but I can't find the words to convey my love on paper." Lee adopted a sad expression again.

"It can't be that hard," Oliver stated, "I could give you some pointers. What are you particularly stuck on?" Lee sighed heavily.

"The lot of it. Have you never just loved someone so much, you want to do one thing that will make them happy? That their smile is the most important thing in the world? And when you kiss, it's as though nothing else has ever existed except from the two of you?" Lee inhaled after his moving speech. It seemed to have had an effect on our Quidditch captain. Oliver was sporting an almost yearning expression, and his eyes were flickering with hidden pain. His reaction was perfect. But it was about to get even better.

Oliver swallowed.

"You- you're a very lucky guy," he finally stuttered, "But I can't see the problem. What you said there seemed really nice." Oh, Ollie boy was falling for it hook, line and sinker.

"Yes, but I can't find a rhyming word," Lee muttered, hanging his head, "Nothing rhymes with Katie."

As soon as Lee said the magic word (Katie), Oliver's face clouded over and his eyes flashed menacingly.

"What?" he asked, in a composed voice.

"The only things I can think of are latey, matey and datey, but none are very romantic," Lee moaned pathetically. Conflicting emotions battled across Ollie's face. From my perfect hiding spot I could witness everything.

"You like Katie?" Oliver said in a strangled voice, "Katie Bell?" When Oliver said Katie's name it looked as though it was physically hurting him. For the first time I began to doubt whether we were doing the right thing or not.

"Yeah," Lee sighed, "She's so perfect." He smiled that love-struck smile he'd been practising all week. Oliver's face was as white as a sheet.

"You can't," he said hoarsely, his expression horror-stricken. Lee appeared to be shocked.

"Why not?" he exclaimed, finding his voice. Oliver's face darkened.

"Because you're not good enough for her!" he retaliated, "No one is."

And with that he took off, practically running down the corridor.

There was a stunned silence.

"Well!" Fred stepped out from where he'd been hiding and surveyed Lee, "Your acting isn't half bad."

Ange rolled her eyes.

"Never mind that, we just discovered THE REASON!!" she cried.

"Huh?" Fred shot her a confused look. George was wearing a similar face. Even Lee was chewing his lip thoughtfully.

"Ugh you three are hopeless!" I said witheringly. Ange and I exchanged 'what were we thinking when we picked these boys up?' looks.

"We are?" they all asked in unison.

"Yes," Ange and I replied simultaneously. We all stopped to laugh.

"Anyway," Ange continued, "More importantly, we discovered why Ollie broke up with Katie!"

"Why?" George asked.

"Did you even hear him?" I snapped, "He said, loudly and clearly, 'you're not good enough for Katie, no one is'."

"Meaning…?" Fred was slow to pick up on the reason.

"Meaning," Angie started, "That no one is good enough for Katie, including _him_."

"Oh," comprehension dawned on their three faces.

"_That's_ what he meant!" Fred exclaimed.

"I knew _that_," George tried to redeem himself.

"Sorry boys," I laughed, "but you're just not on the ball. But good job though."

"Yeah," Ange added, "We'll get back to you on Phase II of OOI"

The three of them groaned but none of them really meant it.

They were every bit as sorry for Katie as we were.

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That night, after we'd said goodnight to the boys, Ange and I planned our next move.

"We need to figure out why Oliver thinks he isn't good enough for Katie," Ange whispered, even though we'd used a concealment charm on the bathroom door.

"I agree, and we need to get her out and about. She's hopeless, holed up in this room all day, singing to herself," I replied.

"And it's always that god awful song!" Angie complained.

"Never mind," I smiled, "Tomorrow our mission will commence."

**A/N Ok, I promise it won't take another 2 months to update. The story's nearly finished anyway… only a couple of chapters now!!**

**Please be nice and review :D xx**

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	9. Could This Day Get Any Worse?

Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me

**Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me.**

**Well, it's been a rather miserable week, hasn't it?**

_Previously on Sorted:_

"_We need to figure out why Oliver thinks he isn't good enough for Katie," Ange whispered, even though we'd used a concealment charm on the bathroom door._

"_Tomorrow our mission will commence."_

Sorted

Would you believe that I actually forgot about "the plan"? I awoke feeling wonderfully refreshed, smiling when I thought how great everything was going with George. It was only when I climbed out of bed and my eyes fell upon Katie's sleeping, yet pale and exhausted-looking, face. Of course, there was nothing I could do immediately; we had to wait until later, much to my chagrin. Sighing heavily (but quietly), I proceeded with my usual morning routine, occasionally glancing at poor Katie, and feeling my own determination rise. If we couldn't solve this mystery, no one could!

"Morning Lici," Fred, George and Lee all greeted me as I entered the Great Hall and seated myself beside George. He gave me a quick peck on the lips (swoon) before continuing with his breakfast. For the main part, breakfast remained uneventful, at least until Angelina turned up and we were able to discuss "the plan".

"Are you sure this will work?" Ange was asking uncertainly. Minor setback; she was as convinced as we were, but probably just too sleep-deprived to think clearly.

"Definitely!" the rest of us replied, but hastily shut our mouths as Katie arrived and flopped down beside Lee. How perfect. I had the perfect view of Oliver – he was seated a lot further down the table from us, on the opposite side of me – so I knew he would be seeing what we wanted him to see. I _knew_ by the sudden tautness of his lips and the clench in his cheek.

But that was enough for now and before long we were all in class. Unfortunately, that part of the day was nowhere near as successful.

"What is the meaning of this?" Professor Snape roared, as he surveyed the miserable wreck of our cauldron. Or rather, the miserable wreck that _used _to be our cauldron; brown, sludgy liquid covered the floor of the dungeons and in the middle there was a twisted, blob of pewter. Great.

"Sorry, sir," I said guiltily, "I must not have read the instructions correctly."

"_Evanesco!_" Snape snarled, vanishing the mess, before turning on me. "Spinnet, this is your third cauldron this year. And it's only November. That will be twenty points from Gryffindor, and a detention tonight. For both you _and_ Mr. Weasley here." Snape moved on, smirking slightly. Fred groaned audibly.

"Bad timing, Lish, bad timing," he muttered, "Detention the _one night _we could actually do without it! And that big slime ball; giving us it just because you burst a cauldron. Oh, the _git_."

From there the day just seemed to go downhill.

"You'll never guess what?" Angie demanded when we all met up at lunch, "We got detention. Tonight. From McGonagall. Because this idiot here couldn't do the spell. And blamed me!" She was glaring at George, who had the decency to look abashed.

"I wasn't to know she'd take it so seriously!" he replied half-heartedly. Needless to say, they didn't take our news too well.

"We're _all_ in detention. Is this a conspiracy? Why, today of all days, couldn't they just take fifty points form Gryffindor?" We all gasped in horror.

"Angelina!" I cried in surprise. She immediately clapped her hand over her mouth.

"Sorry!" she said meekly, "I don't know what came over me there. I'm just so disappointed. I mean –" she lowered her voice to a whisper – "look at Katie, she's a mess." That was a fair point. Katie hadn't said a word all day, and appeared to be listlessly feeding herself a spoonful of mashed potato. It really was a shame.

Detention, I'm ashamed to admit, wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Fred and I were cleaning the trophies in the Trophy Room without magic, but Fred had taken it upon himself to bring a bottle of One-Squirt Self-Cleaning Potion, which basically did all the cleaning for us. Filch was astonished to find the trophies gleaming when he arrived an hour and a half later. Having been dismissed, we legged it back to Gryffindor Tower, ironically bumping into George and Angelina returning from _their_ detention. Pausing to catch our breaths outside the portrait hole, we were able to witness loud smashes and shrieks coming from inside. Exchanging worried looks, Angie quickly gave the password and we all climbed inside to see –

Oliver squaring up to Lee…

Katie cowering behind an armchair, china debris littering the floor surrounding her…

Numerous first years huddled at the foot of both staircases…

And suddenly we all gasped as Oliver threw the first punch. Lee also seemed rather surprised and only just dodged it. Of course, after the initial shock, we all leapt into action. Fred and George both tackled Oliver to prevent him connecting his fist with Lee's nose, managing to pin his arms to his sides. I ran over to Katie and helped her to her feet. She wavered when I made to let go, so I clutched her arm again.

"That was scary," she whispered. Angelina, on the other hand, began to take charge.

"Upstairs," she barked, and the twins wrestled Oliver up the stairs. Lee followed meekly. Katie and I brought up the rear, entering the boys' dormitory last, except, obviously, for Angie. She appeared a minute later, and stood menacingly, hands on hips.

"Okay," she growled, "What on earth was that all about?"

**A/N Thanks to everyone who reviewed; even those who thought this story might never be continued. **


	10. I'm Not a Perfect Person

**Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me.**

_Previously on Sorted…_

"_Upstairs," she barked, and the twins wrestled Oliver up the stairs. Lee followed meekly. Katie and I brought up the rear, entering the boys' dormitory last, except, obviously, for Angie. She appeared a minute later, and stood menacingly, hands on hips._

"_Okay," she growled, "What on earth was that all about?"_

**Sorted**

Silence. Would you believe that a roomful of seven teenagers were capable of making _no _noise? I sure didn't, but no, not a word was uttered until the eerie silence became too much.

"_What is going on?"_ Angelina demanded again, practically spitting with fury. I took this opportunity to observe the situation. Fred and George were eyeing Oliver with identical looks of speculation and confusion; Katie was standing frozen, refusing to look at Oliver directly, but unable to avoid glancing his way every few seconds; Ange was standing in the middle of everyone, glaring between Lee and Oliver in obvious frustration; Lee looked, for lack of a better description, uncomfortable, yet rather relaxed upon closer inspection; Oliver… well, he was still scowling at Lee, but at least didn't seem violent anymore; I, however, was mildly curious as to how this situation had got out of hand. If only one of them would speak!

Then, finally-

"Sorry, Ange," Lee muttered awkwardly, "I guess it got a bit out of hand." He scratched his head and fell silent once more.

"That's not who you should be apologising to," Oliver finally spoke up, his voice tight, his expression pained. Lee's head snapped up.

"Oh, you're right," he answered. A strange expression flickered across his face; it seemed rather calculative. But it was gone before I had time to blink. "Sorry, Katie," he continued, "for kissing you like that. I did get a little out of hand, but you can't deny that it was rather good." And then he winked at her. He _winked_. Katie flushed, and opened her mouth. Whether to agree or disagree, we never found out, as Oliver reacted to Lee's words.

"I told you to leave her alone!" he snapped, and Fred grabbed Oliver's arm in restraint. Ange and I caught each other's eye. This apparent kiss was news to us; we certainly hadn't planned it. But it was bringing everything out into the open. A loud shriek suddenly startled me.

"You did _what?_" Katie had her hands on her hips and was right up in Oliver's face, fury pouring off of her in bucket-loads. To give him his due, our dear quidditch captain cringed and appeared appropriately abashed.

"Er… well, Katie, the thing is…" he trailed off. Words failed him. Katie's head snapped in Lee's direction.

"Well?" she demanded, but Lee only looked slightly nervous.

"Yeah, he did tell me to stay away from you," he explained, "_And_ he said that no one was good enough for you. Including him."

This information momentarily stunned Katie, and George felt inclined to add,

"Which is why he set up that kiss with what's-her-face the other day. So you would break up with him."

"And it worked," Fred said, "Except that old Ollie's been in a foul mood; not even quidditch could cheer him up!"

Angelina was hiding a smile now. "It didn't help with Lee openly confessing his love for you," she brought up.

"I suppose the kiss must have sent Oliver over the edge," I mused.

"Well, it _was_ a darned good kiss," Lee pointed out modestly, his eyes glinting with mischief. We all paused and waited…

"I would like to talk to Katie _alone_, if you wouldn't mind," Oliver finally said in a strained voice.

Fred and George's faces dropped.

"Aw, way to ruin our fun," Fred grumbled, but led the way outside and down the staircase nevertheless.

"We're going to miss it!" Angelina wailed, "I wanted to hear this!" But we were forgetting something. George waved his wand, muttering a few choice words, and suddenly we could _hear_.

CCCCCCCCCCCCCC

"Is that true?" Katie asked in a small voice. It seemed as though all her fury had ebbed away.

"Yes," Oliver replied, just as quietly, "But you have to understand; I only did it because I had to…"

"Why?" Katie demanded, her voice hardening, "Do you not like me anymore?" The pain in her voice was unmistakable.

"What? No! Of _course_ I still like you," Oliver replied hastily, "This has been killing me, the past few days-"

"Why did you do it then?" Katie interrupted, "And with _her_?"

There was an awkward pause.

"Katie," he said hoarsely, "You don't understand. You're too good for me; too good for anyone."

"What makes you think that?" Katie sure wasn't cutting him any slack.

"Because…" Oliver began hesitantly, "I don't tell people this, but the captains of the quidditch teams sometimes receive letters. But it's a rare occasion. Very, _very_ rare…"

"And?" Katie snapped.

"And they're usually from talent scouts, who are interested in signing players-"

"What does this have to do with us?" Katie interrupted again.

"I'm getting there," Oliver explained bleakly. "I have received an offer for Fred and George; they're quite an intimidating pair. I've had an offer for Angelina, an offer for Alicia. But I have had _four_ for you. _Four_. And they're not all small teams either." He laughed bitterly.

"That's the most offers anyone has ever had – well, apart from Harry; every team wants Harry Potter to join them."

"I don't understand," Katie said in frustration, "Why is this relevant?"

"You have four choices already, Katie, and you've still got lots of time before you finish school. But I leave this year, and do you know how many teams have inquired about me?"

There was a lengthy silence.

"None," Oliver answered shortly.

"But…" Katie began, "you still have the rest of the year _and _the holidays to hear from them…"

"Quidditch is all I can do," Oliver said brokenly, "and it's not enough. You're going to be a big star, Katie, and you deserve someone who can take care of you and provide for you and- and- and that's not me."

"Oh, Oliver," Katie sighed, "Do you not know me at all? That doesn't _matter_. There are loads of paths you can take in life and there's _loads_ of time left for you to hear from teams. I believe in you; the team believes in you. And we are going to win the cup this year, and that'll definitely show them all."

There was another, albeit shorter, pause.

"You always know what to say to me," Oliver replied, a hint of a smile present in his voice, "I really, _really_ don't deserve you."

"Oh, but you do," Katie said, sounding more normal, "Or, rather, you will, once you make it up to me. It really hurt, seeing you kiss her, you know."

"I know," Oliver answered, but ploughed on determinedly, "I'm sorry, Katie…"

CCCCCCCCCCCCCC

"I think we should give them some privacy now," I said guiltily. We'd all become pretty caught up in the story.

"Who would have guessed?" Angelina began, once we'd taken a seat in the Common Room, "Oliver has insecurity issues! I can't believe he hasn't had an offer, though." She frowned thoughtfully.

"They must be too busy, what with the world cup, to think about signing new players. They'll get around to it eventually, and Oliver will get flooded with offers. He's the best keeper here," George added.

"I wonder if she'll forgive him?" I wondered aloud.

"Yes, she definitely will," Fred announced, "I'd bet on it, in fact."

No one took the bet; it seemed we all agreed on that fact.

But then there was a loud CRASH from upstairs - from the dormitory in which we'd left Katie and Oliver. What now?


End file.
